For my 200th post at Henchman-4-Hire, I want ALL the Robins! But 200 posts, that’s a pretty big achievement, right? I hope so, and I hope to write 200 more. I’m really enjoying blogging, and we’ve definitely increased our readership since the site opened. I take that as a good sign. Though I wish we saw more comments. C’mon everybody! Fire off a comment or two after some of my posts. Tell me what you think. Tell me what else you want to read!

Calling ALL the Robins!

At any rate, to celebrate the 200th post I’ve picked a very special comic book to review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold #13. It’s a comic book based on a now cancelled TV show, but it’s special because it’s the very first time, in all of comicdom, that all of the Robins team up in one adventure in order to help Batman!

Calling all Robins…Batman Dies at Dawn!

How nifty is that?

Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.

Not very nifty as a story, but wonderfully nifty as a concept. Longtime readers of this blog will know that I’m a HUGE Robin fan. I love the character even more than Batman. So any Robin-focused story is cool by me. So I figured it would be a fun idea to spend my 200th post talking about a comic book that revels in ultimate Robin goodness. The story is flimsy, the characterizations are sparse, but dammit if this isn’t a comic where Dick, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, Damian and even Carrie Kelly team up in order to save the Batman!

That’s good comic books, people.

I’ve only see two or three episodes of the cartoon show Batman: The Brave and the Bold. It’s a very kid-friendly show, with colorful characters and moral lessons…I think. I dunno, don’t watch it. But basically Batman, voiced by Deidrich Bader, teams up with a different superhero each week to fight the bad guys. From what I understand, it’s pretty awesome with the guest stars, including such obscure favorites as Plastic Man, G’Nort, Blue Beetle and more.

I have managed to what the episodes that feature Batman’s normal partner, Robin! Because of course I did.

Anyway, as with most cartoon shows of its ilk, Batman: The Brave and the Bold got a tie-in comic book written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Rick Burchett. The comic presumably continues the same campy fun of the cartoon show. And where else but in a world of campy fun can you use mystical time travel to bring together all of the Robins?

The issue opens with the first Robin, Dick Grayson, beating up the Royal Flush Gang alongside fellow sidekick Speedy, the Green Arrow’s partner. As in the cartoon, Dick has graduated from being Robin into his own superhero identity, Nightwing. The two are enjoying themselves, until the Phantom Stranger appears and whisks Nightwing away. The day needs to be saved, and Nightwing is key.

For you see…Batman Dies at Dawn!

Screw a hospital, the Batcave is the place to go for medical aid

Dun Dun DUN!

The title is based on a classic story called ‘Robin Dies at Dawn’, in which Batman fears that Robin is dead. It’s a popular old story, referenced a lot. The cover features Batman holding Robin limply in his arms, hence Batman now in the arms of the Phantom Stranger. The mysterious Stranger explains that Batman was out on patrol when he came upon a mugger trying to rob a couple and their son in Crime Alley, the same place where his own parents were shot and killed. And because of this emotional connection, Batman was a bit reckless. He kicked the mugger…but the man’s gun flew wild, firing towards the couple.

Batman threw himself in front of the gun, getting shot in the back!

For some reason, the Phantom Stranger can’t cure simple bullet wounds with magic. And there’s no one else in the entirety of time or space who can heal bullet wounds. So the Phantom Stranger put Batman into a sort of frozen stasis (which only lasts until dawn, for some reason), and he used his immense powers to summon half a dozen Robins from different points in time to aid Batman. Because as the Phantom Stranger says, “Batman has had many powerful allies, yet in the most desperate situations, he always turns to Robin.”

Robin Roll call!

From left to right:

Stephanie Brown, the Fourth Robin: The only canon female Robin, Stephanie started her comic book career as the costumed vigilante known as Spoiler. She was a love interest for the Third Robin, Tim Drake, who fought crime in Gotham City, despite Batman not approving. However, when Tim had to step down as Robin, Stephanie jumped right in and Batman accepted her as his Robin. They went on a few adventures together, until Stephanie disobeyed an order and she was fired. Tim soon came back. Stephanie would later go on to become Batgirl.

Dick Grayson, the First Robin: Dick is the Robin that most people probably know, seeing as how he was the first. Dick was the circus acrobat whose parents were killed, and he was adopted by Bruce Wayne. They had many great years together as Batman and Robin until Dick grew up and decided he didn’t want to be Batman’s little sidekick anymore. So Dick created his own superhero identity: Nightwing. Hence the different costume from everyone else.

Damian Wayne, the Fifth Robin: Damian is the current Robin in comics, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Talia raised Damian in secret, and only recently revealed his existence to Bruce. Damian is only around 10-years-old, but he has trained his entire life as an assassin, so he is a master at hand-to-hand combat. Damian originally served as Robin when Dick Grayson was Batman, but most recently Bruce has returned to Batman, taking his son as his sidekick.

Carrie Kelly, the Future Robin: Carrie isn’t technically in canon. She’s from the very popular series The Dark Knight Returns, written by Frank Miller in the late 1980s. The Dark Knight Returns is the story of an aging Batman coming out of retirement to clean up a Gotham City gone to Hell. Carrie is a disenfranchised teen who becomes inspired by Batman’s sudden return, so she makes a Robin costume for herself and saves Batman’s life. For that, he takes her under his wing as the new Robin. She was the first female Robin, since Stephanie didn’t come around until decades later.

Tim Drake, the Third Robin: My favorite Robin, Tim Drake, appeared in the early 90s as a more modern take on the character. As you can see, he added pants and boots to the costume instead of the short shorts and pixie boots. Tim is the best Robin, being both as smart as Batman and a good fighter too. Tim was practically custom made to be the perfect Robin. These days, he’s moved on to calling himself Red Robin and leading the Teen Titans since Damian weaseled into his sport.

Jason Todd, the Second Robin: Jason is the red-headed step-child of the Robin. When Dick grew up and became Nightwing, Bruce Wayne met a twerply street urchin and decided to adopt the boy and make him the new Robin. Jason had to wear the short shorts and pixie boots, and was often surly and mean as Robin. This attitude eventually got him killed by the Joker. But seeing as how this is comic books, Jason eventually came back to life and now calls himself the Red Hood. He’s a vigilante who kills criminals, breaking one of Batman’s most important rules. Batman kind of just ignores that Jason is out there being bad.

As you can imagine, the Robins start out arguing with each other since more than a few of them are hotheads.

You tell'em, Carrie!

But Nightwing convinces them all to work as a team, one of Batman’s most important rules. The Robins deduce that simple medicine won’ t help Batman, since otherwise the Phantom Stranger would have just taken him to a hospital. So Nightwing decides that the best way to save Batman is a Lazarus Pit, an ancient chemical bath that brings the dead back to life and saves the nearly dead. The team flies to a snowy, mountainous region to access a pit hidden deep in a cave.

Nightwing takes Damian, Jason and Carrie with him into the cave while Tim and Stephanie stay behind to guard Batman. Stephanie’s miffed that she’s left on guard duty, but Tim points out that Nightwing would only trust the best of them to keep Batman safe.

Inside the cave, Nightwing and his team find that the Lazarus Pit is guarded by the League of Assassins! There’s a cute scene where Damian tries to use his heritage with the League to command them, but they don’t know him since he’s magically time traveled. So Nightwing and his team start kicking butt, and Nightwing takes a moment to recognize the differences between the Robin. Whereas he’s still an acrobatic fighter, Jason fights with anger; Damian fights with precision skill; and Carrie jumps around a lot using a slingshot. Outside, Nightwing surmises that Tim and Stephanie are more cerebral Robins. Tim is the level-headed detective, while Stephanie is a bit headstrong.

Speaking of Tim and Stephanie, they are suddenly ambushed by Ra’s al Ghul! You see, Ra’s pretty much owns the Lazarus Pit and the League of Assassins. Rather than fight, however, Tim and Stephanie explain what’s wrong and Ra’s agrees to help. Ra’s has great respect for Batman, and doesn’t think the great hero should die from getting shot in the back. So Ra’s and his men put Batman in the Lazarus Pit to save his life – but it’s a double cross!

When you put someone in the Lazarus Pit, they come out insane!

But Nightwing just laughs that offer and offers Batman a hand out of the Pit. Ra’s may emerge insane, but Ra’s isn’t Batman. Nightwing is proven right when Batman takes his hand, climbs out and thanks him for his help. Batman is fine and dandy, and he knew he could count on Nightwing to help him.

Stephanie rushes up and gives Batman a hug, at which point he takes a look around and is a little confused at all the strange Robins.

The issue ends with the Phantom Stranger meeting with fellow mystic Madame Xanadu. He assures her that the world can always rely on Batman, and Batman can always rely on Robin. Xanadu tells him that if his Robins had failed, she has a squad of all the different Batgirls lined up!

This issue was a lot of fun! Granted, it was rather flimsy. Nobody could save Batman from some bullets in the back? Stranger had to bend time and space to bring all the Robins together? Only a team of Robins could beat up a bunch of League of Assassin goons to get to a Lazarus Pit? The plot doesn’t hold together if you scrutinize it too much.

But boy oh boy was it fun seeing all the Robins team up!

Everyone gets a moment or two to shine, letting their distinct personalities bubble to the surface. I’m afraid there’s not much, though, just a panel or two for everyone. Nightwing gets the biggest push, but then he’s actually appeared in The Brave and the Bold cartoon before. The rest are all from the comics. This issue was just plain fun, and had a lot of love for a Robin fan like me. There’s a lot of respect and reverence towards the importance of Robin in Batman’s life, and I will always encourage that.

So here’s hoping for even more Robin goodness in the next 200 blog entires!